The 3 - March 24, 2019

This week's edition of The 3, highlighting three stories of relevance to Christians, features a British journalist who is being investigated by law enforcement because she used the wrong pronoun or pronouns to describe a person who has had surgery in an attempted gender change.  Also, Christians are being targeted in the nation of Nigeria, with hundreds losing their lives in just the last couple of months.  And, state legislatures are continuing to consider and pass pro-life legislation that protects unborn children once a heartbeat is detected.

3 - British journalist under investigation for "misgendering"

Caroline Farrow is a journalist in the U.K., writing for the Catholic Herald.  And, she is trouble with authorities, according to a report on The Christian Post website. Last September, according to the website, she debated Susie Green, the head of a "transgender advocacy group" called Mermaids on Good Morning Britain.

In the interview, Farrow made the case, among other things that, as the Post put it, "single-sex spaces in children's schools and in other places of public accommodation should be maintained."

But the article says that law enforcement got involved because "Farrow allegedly referred to Green’s child, who is now called 'Jackie,' a biological male who underwent a surgical procedure in Thailand several years ago...with incorrect pronouns on Twitter."

The article goes on to quote Farrow:

"I do not know what I am supposed to have done but the police told me that 'you appeared on 'Good Morning Britain' with Susie Green and made some tweets misgendering her daughter,'" Farrow said in an interview with The Christian Post...

Farrow says, "I have to go and be interviewed under caution, a taped interview where I will be shown offending tweets which supposedly constitute the offence of Malicious Communications. If you look up the offence you’ll see that I am not in breech. I haven’t threatened or said anything that I know to be untrue or is indecent or grossly offensive."  The piece points out, "Meanwhile, Farrow has been regularly harassed and threatened by transgender activists."

2 - Nigerian Christians face mass persecution

Christians in Nigeria continue to face stiff and violent persecution, and there has been a recent series of tragic incidents in the country, according to Baptist Press, which reports that:

As many as 280 people were killed in Christian communities in several attacks spanning February through mid-March in Nigeria's Middle Belt, according to varying reports from Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Morning Star News and International Christian Concern (ICC). Militants destroyed hundreds of homes and displaced residents.

Baptist Press reports that a recent attack in Kaduna state by Fulani militants resulted in the loss of ten lives on March 16, according to Morning Star News.  And, Baptist Press had reported that two attacks in the same region took 40 lives in February.

And, there is criticism of the Nigerian government for failing to protect Christians. International Christian Concern had stated, "There have been no major attempts by the Nigerian government to hold the Fulani accountable or disarm them," adding, "The re-election of President Buhari ensures that the government will remain dormant as the perpetrators continue to inflict suffering in Nigeria." Buhari was re-elected February 26.

The article also reports that, "a regional Nigerian court ruled that the national government failed to protect victims when militant Fulani killed 500 people, most of them Christian civilians, in several Middle Belt attacks in Benue State in 2016."

1 - Heartbeat bills progress in several states

There is a huge divide that is occurring among U.S. states on the issue of abortion.  New York's legislature gleefully passed a bill to legalize abortion in that state, and there have been bills introduced into legislatures in states including Virginia, Rhode Island, and Illinois, that would liberalize their abortion laws.

Meanwhile, other states are going in the other direction, attempting to ban the barbaric practice, that terminates a human life, once a heartbeat is detected in the unborn child.  Late last Friday, as The Hill and other outlets reported, the Georgia Senate passed a such a bill, reporting, "The bill passed the state Senate in a party-line vote of 34-18 and now heads back to the House to concur Senate changes." Newly-elected Governor Brian Kemp has maintained his support of the bill.

Last week, Mississippi's Governor, Phil Bryant, signed a heartbeat bill passed by that state's legislature.  He was quoted in the Clarion-Ledger as saying: "We think this is showing the profound respect and desire of Mississippians to protect the sanctity of that unborn life whenever possible," adding, "It also protects, we believe, the physical and mental health of the mother. We here in Mississippi believe in protecting and defending the whole life of that child."

And, Kentucky's Governor, Matt Bevin, also signed a heartbeat bill a few days before that.  The same day as his signature went on the bill, the ACLU went to court, according to The Blaze:

At 7:40 p.m., U.S. District Judge David Hale issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the state from enforcing Senate Bill 9, the so-called "fetal heartbeat" legislation, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. Under the new law, it is illegal to terminate a pregnancy once a baby has a heartbeat, which occurs around six weeks' gestation.

The American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project sued to halt the law on behalf of the Kentucky's only abortion clinic, the EMW Women's Surgical Center. The health care provider canceled abortion appointments on Friday in compliance with the new law but resumed services by Saturday after Judge Hale's decision.

Hale put the law on hold for 14 days before going into effect.  

The 3 - March 17, 2019

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories impacting the Christian community, features a development from Washington state, where a new law forces churches to cover abortion in their insurance plans.  Also, the tax allowance for clergy has been challenged in court, and the latest court ruling, from a Federal appeals court, reinforced the constitutionality of the allowance.  And, "heartbeat" bills that would ban abortion after an unborn child's heartbeat is detected, are moving forward in several states.

3 - Washington state attempts to make churches pay for abortions

A law in the state of Washington signed into law last year forces churches to fund abortion in their health care plans.  A ChristianHeadlines.com states that, "The law requires insurance plans to cover abortion if they also cover maternity care. It has no religious exemptions."

Alliance Defending Freedom has become involved in fighting against this new law, and the story says that ADF has filed a lawsuit "on behalf of Cedar Park Assembly of God, a Kirkland, Wash., congregation. The suit claims the law violates the congregation’s constitutionally protected freedom of religion and displays hostility toward religious groups that oppose abortion."

The suit referred to the law as an "intentional" "attack on people of faith." It stated, "The strong statutory language, lack of any church exception, and anticipated evidence that pro-abortion groups assisted in drafting and enacting SB 6219, indicates that Washington and its officials deliberately targeted religious organizations and intentionally violated those organizations’ religious beliefs.”

2 - Appeals court rules that housing allowance for ministers is constitutional

It was just a year and a half ago when a Federal district court judge ruled against the longstanding ministers' housing allowance in the U.S. tax code.   But, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the past week has struck down that lower court ruling, according to ChristianityToday.com, which reported that:

Offered only to “ministers of the gospel,” the 60-year-old tax break excludes the rental value of a home from the taxable income of US clergy, CT previously reported. GuideStone Financial Resources has called it the “most important tax benefit available to ministers.”

The original lawsuit was filed by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and appeals court judge Michael Brennan wrote, according to the article, "FFRF claims Section 107(2) renders unto God that which is Caesar’s,” adding, “But this tax provision falls into the play between the joints of the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause: neither commanded by the former, nor proscribed by the latter.”

The article points out that the Clergy Housing Allowance "...is currently claimed to the tune of $700 million a year..."  This is the FFRF's second attempt to overturn the allowance, having been turned back in a Federal appeals court decision in 2014.

1 - Pro-life heartbeat bills advance in several states

There are a number of states who in the process of passing legislation that would ban abortion after the heartbeat of an unborn child is detected.  Perhaps the most recent is Kentucky; according to Liberty Counsel:

Kentucky’s House passed Senate Bill 9, a fetal heartbeat bill, by a vote of 71 to 19 last night. SB 9 bans most abortions in the state once a fetal heartbeat is detected. The measure requires anyone seeking an abortion to first determine if a fetal heartbeat is detectable, typically about six weeks into pregnancy.

Since that bill has already passed the Senate in the Bluegrass State, all it has to do is be signed by pro-life governor Matt Bevin to become law; then, of course, there will no doubt it will be challenged in court.  In the neighboring state of Ohio, pro-life governor Mike DeWine has already said he would sign a heartbeat bill, something that his predecessor refused to do - twice. Cleveland.com reports, "The Ohio Senate passed a bill Wednesday afternoon that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected -- which would be one of the nation’s strictest bans on the procedure."  the vote was 19-13.  The bill now heads to the Ohio House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, Mississippi governor Phil Bryant is waiting on the state legislature to pass a heartbeat bill.  The House and Senate had passed different versions, and just this week, the House passed the Senate version of the bill, with some minor changes, according to Jackson's Clarion-Ledger.  It stated:

The House passed a bill Monday that outlaws abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can come as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

The Senate, where the bill originated, will have another chance to review and vote on the bill and minor House changes before it could head to Gov. Phil Bryant. Bryant has said he supports the legislation and would sign it into law.

Georgia and Tennessee are other states where the heartbeat bills have recently passed one chamber of their legislatures.

The 3 - March 10, 2019

This week's assortment of stories impacting the Christian community, The 3, involves a case that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected dealing with using taxpayer-funded historic preservation dollars for church repairs.  Also, an Alabama man is suing an abortion clinic because it performed an abortion on his pregnant girlfriend without his consent.  And, a Colorado commission has decided not to pursue a complaint against the same cake baker who won a Supreme Court ruling.

3 - New Jersey denies church rights to preservation funds, SCOTUS denies appeal, new justice balks

Almost two years after ruling in favor of allowing a religious school to participate in a playground resurfacing grant program, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to accept cases from New Jersey that would have allowed taxpayer historic preservation funds to go to churches.

CNBC.com reports that the New Jersey Supreme Court had "declined to extend the Supreme Court's reasoning" in the playground case "to historic preservation grants, saying the cases are distinct because playground resurfacing is not a religious use, but church repairs are."

But the court's newest justice, Brett Kavanaugh, expressed concern.  The article said:

Kavanaugh, who voted to deny the cases on technical grounds, wrote that preventing preservation funds from going to religious organizations "simply because the organizations are religious" raised "serious questions."

"Barring religious organizations because they are religious from a general historic preservation grants program is pure discrimination against religion," he wrote.

His statement was "joined" by justices Alito and Gorsuch.  He voted not to accept the case because it wasn't the time.  The CNBC article stated:

...Kavanaugh said that it was correct not to review the cases because of certain issues particular to the cases at hand, and because there was not yet sufficient case law in the lower courts on the question.

Justices Thomas and Gorsuch had stated that the ruling in the playground case was too narrow; in my opinion, this sets up a bloc of four conservative justices that could support the extension of historic preservation funds to churches, if the case were to come before it in the future.  The ideological balance on the high court does seem to have shifted, with four liberals, four conservatives, and a new "swing" vote in Chief Justice John Roberts, who had generally been thought to be part of the conservative wing.

2 - Unborn child is plaintiff in lawsuit against Alabama abortion clinic

It is certainly an unfortunate situation, certainly a crisis pregnancy - a 19-year-old young man and a 16-year-old young lady, producing a child.  He claims that he did not want her to have an abortion, but she did it anyway, according to FoxNews.com, which reports that the father, Ryan Magers, now 21, has hired an attorney who is filing a lawsuit and naming the unborn child as a plaintiff.  The lawyer, Brent Helms, says: "We are suing the clinic, the manufacturer of the pill, going after the doctor and going after any professional organization the doctor is affiliated with," adding, "if they are all held liable, it would put a dent on the profitability of abortions." And, as the report says:

On Tuesday, an Alabama county court recognized the aborted fetus, "Baby Roe," as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, making the case one of the first of its kind.

Magers, according to Fox, "claims his girlfriend got a medicated abortion at the Alabama Women's Center for Reproductive Alternatives in Huntsville in February 2017 when she was six weeks pregnant." He had "pleaded with his girlfriend, who was 16, not to get the abortion."

The story also states:

Helms, who is seeking monetary damages and a jury trial, says the ultimate goal is to increase the rights of would-be fathers and strip protections in place for women who are seeking abortions in Alabama.

"I'm here for the men who actually want to have their baby," he said. "I believe every child from conception is a baby and deserves to live."

1 - Jack Phillips survives (another) court challenge

Not too long ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Colorado cake baker Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop, who had declined to make a cake celebrating a same-sex marriage.  According to WORLD Magazine, according to the high court, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission "showed hostility toward religion in its earlier prosecution of Phillips for declining to make a cake for a same-sex wedding."

Another complaint was filed before the commission because, according to the article, Phillips "refused to bake a cake celebrating a gender transition because of his religious beliefs, sparking another complaint and investigation of Phillips by the Civil Rights Commission."

Jack, in turn, filed a lawsuit against the state, "saying it disregarded the Supreme Court decision by pursuing the second complaint." This week, the Commission announced it would drop the complaint; that decision, according to WORLD, "followed discoveries by Phillips’ attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom that members of the Civil Rights Commission still exhibit anti-religious bias."

ADF Senior Vice President Kristen Waggoner is quoted as saying. “The state’s demonstrated and ongoing hostility toward Jack because of his beliefs is undeniable.”

The 3 - March 3, 2019

This week's edition of The 3 spotlights a Day of Mourning that occurred to lament the dreadful decision of New York's legislature to allow abortion up until the time of birth.  Also, the U.S. Senate turned back an attempt to protect children who survive an abortion attempt.  And, United Methodists, in a special meeting, decided to uphold traditional teaching on marriage and homosexuality.

3 - Gathering mourns New York abortion law

The response continues to be strong and passionate regarding the decision of the state of New York's legislature and its governor to allow legal abortion up until the time of birth.  The news of this becoming law was cheered by lawmakers, but pro-life Christians have a different viewpoint.

Recently, a Day of Mourning was held at the state capital in Albany, New York, and the Times-Union, a local newspaper, reported that:

Thousands of people donning black clothing prayed, prostrated and proclaimed their opposition to abortion — and New York's recently-signed Reproductive Health Act — during a "Day of Mourning" event at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center on Saturday afternoon.

The article continued, stating:

The event's speakers painted the issue as a moral crisis facing the nation, and called on Christians of all denominations to protest outside of abortion clinics, or "killing centers", as they were described by Elizabeth Johnston, a pro-life advocate and the event's main speaker.

Speakers at the Day of Mourning event included Johnston, an author and social media advocate, as well as Justin Reeder, founder of a Charlotte, N.C.-based pro-life ministry, and Blythe Mullen, an eight-year-old girl whose mother decided against abortion after an unplanned pregnancy and put her up for adoption.

Reeder said at the event, according to the newspaper "It's time to rebuild, pick up the pieces," adding, "I'm talking about a culture shift, where families stop running to the abortion center for the answer, and they begin running to the local church. That's the shift that I believe (in)." Johnston is quoted as saying, "We are standing with these forgotten and thrown-away children, and promising to do all that is in our power to end the bloodshed and defend the weak..."  Other cities in the nation had similar events planned.

2 - U.S. Senate rejects protection for babies surviving abortion

Discussion on abortion has continued throughout our nation over the past couple of months; not only was the anniversary of Roe v. Wade commemorated during January, including the March for Life in Washington, but with New York's offensive legislative action and an attempt to promote infanticide in Virginia, the issue of life is continuing to take center stage.

And, the U.S. Senate had a chance to weigh in on the protection that a child who survives an abortion attempt should have. By a 53-44 vote, in which all but three of the body's Democrats voted against
such a measure, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act was not allowed to move forward; it needed to get 60 votes.

As the Family Research Council reported, bill sponsor Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska said (according to Breitbart), "We've heard speech after speech after speech that have nothing to do with what's actually in this bill. I urge my colleagues to picture a baby that's already been born, that's outside the womb gasping for air. That's the only thing that today's vote is actually about. We're talking about babies that have already been born… We're not talking about Roe v. Wade."

National Review Online's Alexandra Desanctis said, "Although the bill doesn't restrict abortion rights, it brings into crystal-clear focus the irrationality of the pro-abortion position," adding, "If those who support abortion concede that perhaps there is something wrong with permitting an infant to die the moment after birth if it was meant to have been aborted one minute earlier suddenly the question becomes, 'Why is it acceptable to perform that abortion one minute earlier?'"

And, there may be a cost to the Democratic party, which has embraced a pro-abortion agenda with greater fervor than ever.  FRC points out that "In the four weeks since Democrats cheered the deaths of innocent babies in New York, Americans finally understood the horrors of what they stand for. And the masses have started walking away. There are 14 percent more pro-life Democrats today than last month. Fourteen percent more who will fight to end this generation's nightmare." 

This comes as some Christian leaders are decrying partisan politics, criticizing single-issue voting (with that issue being abortion), and attempting to equate abortion with other issues which they say also shows a lack of regard for human life. But, it begs the question, which has been pointed out and even debated: what issue is there that rises to the level of the state-sanctioned murder of unborn, defenseless, vulnerable human beings, which takes thousands of lives in America every single day?

1 - United Methodists uphold traditional church teaching on homosexuality

Almost three years ago, during a contentious General Conference of the United Methodist Church, leaders made a decision to deal with matters concerning the Church's treatment of homosexuality in a specially-called General Conference.  That conference occurred in St. Louis recently, and delegates voted to uphold the traditional view of homosexuality in the Church's Book of Discipline, continued to uphold the Biblical definition of marriage as one-man and one-woman, will not allow the ordination of gay individuals.

The Institute on Religion and Democracy stated in a press release posted on its website...

...delegates gathered in St. Louis adopted a plan advocated by traditionalists which increases accountability measures for clergy and local bodies.

The United Methodist Church is the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States, but has a global membership of more than 12 million members in the United States, Africa, Europe, and the Philippines.

The denomination’s longstanding official standards are that all people are welcome in its churches, while also teaching that marriage is only between one man and one woman.

John Lomperis of IRD, who is the United Methodist Action Director for the organization, is quoted as saying:

“This was a historic turning point for our denomination, and will hopefully help make the United Methodist Church look refreshingly very different from what we have seen in the last several years.”

He was a guest on The Meeting House in advance of the conference.  You can find that audio here.

Lester Spencer, Senior Pastor of Montgomery (AL)'s St. James UMC and President of the Alabama-West Florida Conference Chapter of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, provided a post-conference report, which you can find here.  

In a statement on its website, the Association shared its thankfulness for the Conference's decision, and stated:

We recognize that persons of divergent positions have been harmed by the acrimonious and bitter debate exhibited at the recent special General Conference. As Christians, we are called to exhibit grace and to speak the truth in love. We are committed to conversations and actions that affirm the sacred worth and love of all people regardless of their perspective in our church’s decades-old debate.

The statement also said:

From its inception, the WCA has been unwavering in its commitment to restore the good order and missional effectiveness of the UM Church. Our work will continue unabated as we address factors that have contributed to dysfunction and ineffectiveness. We are committed to working with other United Methodists to achieve that end at the next General Conference in 2020, including a gracious exit provision. And should circumstances warrant, we remain prepared to launch a new Methodist movement.